It’s asinine to sit here and write, “Boy that playoff win sure was important.… It’s the playoffs, every single one of the 16 wins you desire in order to life Lord Stanley is pretty important. But the importance, and perhaps the fashion rather, of Boston’s Game 4 overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings at the Joe Louis Arena, giving the B’s a 3-1 series lead, is just downright absurd.
Dominated in the first period of last night’s contest, and put in 1-0 hole when Niklas Kronwall fired home a power play goal, and then in a two-goal hole when Pavel Datsyuk made it 2-0 in the second frame, nothing seemed to going the Bruins’ way.
Even with Detroit starter Jimmy Howard riding the pine with the flu, forcing Jonas Gustavsson into his first taste of Stanley Cup Playoff hockey. Brad Marchand missed a wide open net in the first (and again in the third), Reilly Smith hit the post on a breakaway, and the puck went every which way but in. For the Bruins, it looked like Game 1 all over again.
But life was finally found for the Black-and-Gold when the Michigan-born Torey Krug ripped an absolute laser on the man-advantage, bringing the Bruins within one after two periods of play.
Setting the stage for an intense third at the Joe, the Bruins wasted no time in knotting things up, with a net-front Milan Lucic banging home his second of the postseason off a slick dish from Carl Soderberg just 75 seconds into the third period. From there, this one went insane.
On top of the aforementioned second Marchand miss, the Bruins and Wings went end-to-end looking for the go-ahead marker, and failed to solve anything after 60 minutes of play.
Less than a minute into the first overtime game of the series, Detroit’s Justin Abdelkader had a breakaway, but was stopped by the 27-year-old Tuukka Rask, whose brickwall remained intact in a topsy turvy Game 4, failing to let B’s put their guard down for even a second.
But in an overtime that was all Boston -- the Bruins outshot Detroit 12-to-3 -- the game-winner was found by way of some patented hard work from the Bruins’ first line, with Lucic and Jarome Iginla jamming the front of the net on a Dougie Hamilton shot.
With the shot looking like it bounced off everybody involved (seriously, it may have even hit Mike Babcock), credit for the goal ultimately went to the 36-year-old Iginla, a player that’s looked slower than anticipated throughout much of the Bruins’ opening four games of this series.
Right place, right time? Sure. A kickstarter to bring out the best of Jarome? The Bruins hope so.
It’s easy to say that Iginla needs to be better for the Bruins -- even though he’s recorded a goal and three points in four games -- based on his regular season figures with the Bruins. And just about everybody’s read the narratives of what sort of a ‘slow starter’ Iginla has been throughout his career, so getting Iggy back up to speed, even if it’s off a deflection, is just so pivotal for the Bruins.
This is a player that’s skated beyond the first round just twice in his entire NHL career, and now, thanks to his overtime deflection, the Bruins are just one win away from giving Iginla his third career second round appearance. But by now, you know the deal when it comes the B’s and the clincher.
It’s never been this easy. Ever.
Aside from sweeps against the Montreal Canadiens (2009), Philadelphia Flyers (2011), and Pittsburgh Penguins (2013), the Black-and-Gold have had their share of trouble closing out a series. The Bruins held this same 3-1 edge over the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round last year, and one Game 7 overtime later, we all know how that ended.
Now it’s all about finishing this one on Boston ice.
The Bruins, against a Red Wings team that just got Todd Bertuzzi (who provided the screen on Detroit’s first goal) and captain Henrik Zetterback back, absolutely don’t want to go back to Detroit for a Game 6. That’d almost seem like a total lock for a Game 7, all things considered.
But, My God, could you even imagine what happened if the B's dropped last night's game like they probably should have?
Fortunately you don't have to, 'cause Iggy finally had his say.